I'm organizing a group to meet at Fruit and Spice park in November, on the 16th, @1030-11am

I would take the group on a tour of the park, and show them some of the lesser known fruits, mostly Annonas, Garcinias, Eugenias, Plinias, and other oddball species, not much of the Jackfruits, mangoes, lychees, longans and other more common fruits the park is famous for.

here in a definite cold pocked zone 9a, we stayed at 32F freezing last night for what seemed like 5hr. (I think JFK in NYC stayed at 33F...lol)

there was no wind, and humidity was at 99%....I'm waiting to see if there is delayed damage on the garcinia from Luc, which is full of new leaves...also the mulberries have fruits on them still...and jaboticabas flowering all over....Myrciaria strigipes and pitangatuba have flowers and fruits holding...if they got damaged, it will take a few days to notice...but I will post pics and updates.

I'm not going to be grafting many Annonas this year, but will be selling lots of scions...I usually start selling them in February (depending on weather)....but I am willing to ship any time of year, as long as you accept that there are no refunds.

here is a quick list of what will be for sale, although there are no prices listed, I've tried to list the scions from least rare, to most rare...so cheapest to most expensive.

I have been thinking about the devastation in Haiti, and wondering if we can come together to donate seeds (or plant material)? I know some of the growers there were depending on cacao and coffee as a crop...I wonder if we can help somehow?

If you want to buy some seriously excellent jam, get it from http://www.threesistersfarm.com. They are located right across the street, just North of Fruit and Spice Park, in Homestead, FL. The jam is perfection in a jar! Certified Organic too!

An interesting subject to me...I wonder what exactly causes delayed incompatibility...I imagine, in certain cases, it's caused by chemicals (hormones? enzymes? Or something comparable to antibodies found in animals?)

I have a sugar Apple that was grafted onto custard Apple, which lasted a good 2yr, growing wonderfully, before suddenly dying...I assume it was delayed incompatibility....and not a pathogen that afflicted the plant...because the rootstock (Annona reticulata) is now growing happily...I wonder if the rootstock has a mechanism to reject the scion, in order to free itself from the oppression of the scion (A. squamosa), so it can reproduce.

sometimes it can be difficult to determine when to harvest certain fruits (in my case guanabana)

in short, I have found that you can tell when certain fruits are ripe by percussing them with your finger.

gently tap the fruit, and you will hear a hollow sound...the same as you would with a watermelon. I suppose the moisture in a ripe fruit allows the vibrations to reverberate a little bit, as opposed to when the fruit is still green, the dry unripe pulp will not allow for such a sound.

about 5 yr ago, I accidentally figured out you can root Eugenia brasiliensis (Grumichama) via leafy cuttings. I had stripped some seedlings of their leaves, letting them fall below onto the soil (which was a layer of 100% Canadian Sphagnum peat). I kept the seedlings in the shade, as I was letting them recover from being separated from a community pot. About 4 months after, I noticed the leaves on the soil were still green...i went to pick up a leaf, and saw it had a 4 inch long root.

I have never seen this propagation technique referenced in any book, or abstract.

it would be a valuable means of propagation, because Grumixama is a highly variable species that produces seedlings that aren't always true to type.

earlier this year I took some cuttings of a rare variegated variety. It's been approx 5 month since I took the cuttings....the leaves are still healthy and green...I believe some of them have produced roots. I'm afraid to disturb them now, but I will post pictures as soon as I can, to show how the root growth looks.

please stay tuned to this thread if you are interested in propagating Eugenia brasiliensis...you just might learn something new, that you won't be able to read in a book.

I have just a few seedlings left, price range $50-60, about 2yr old, approx 12-16 inch tall, with nice branching.

(I will be selling grafted trees, possibly later this year)

Here are the details:

-A rare variety of Plinia coronata that grows in a very hot, coastal region of Brazil (so it's extremely heat tolerant, and even tolerant of planting near the sea...most Plinias suffer near the ocean)

-the tree is precocious, reportedly fruiting in about 5-8yr from seed, unlike most varieties of Plinia coronata, that can take 15-20 yr to fruit.

-Plinia coronata var. Restinga is smaller than most varieties of Plinia coronata, most of them are very tall, growing over 30ft in Brazil. This variety is compact, and can easily be kept under 15ft tall indefinitely, with proper pruning.

I believe this plant (graft combination) represents an opportunity for growers in South, FL, where the climate is good for growing Camu camu, but the soil is horrible (lime rock, with high pH), making it almost impossible to grow this species, without digging a big hole, and replacing the native soil with acid sand, or peat moss, and also drenching with chelated Fe.

The rootstock I've chose to employ, is the Blue jaboticaba (M. vexator). It can thrive in the native soils of South FL, as long as it's fertilized, and properly irrigated. In theory, this resistance for high pH (lime rock soil), should be imparted into the grafted tree, making the scion (M. dubia) more capable of surviving the adverse conditions of South FL soil. Although the trees will be more resistant to high pH, I'm sure they will still require periodic drenches with chelated Fe, until they are established...but the amount of product required to keep the plants thriving would be a fraction of what you'd have to use if you tried to keep M. dubia alive on it's own roots.

It would make me really happy to see a grove of Camu camu fruiting in the Redlands of FL (even if it's a very small grove, or just one tree! haha!)

first flowers E. brasiliensis seedling in groundE. pitanga in ground, one of 4 flowering for the 2nd year...fruited last year...very tolerant of heat and poor soilE. itaguahiensis (one of 5, in 10-15 gal pots, flowering for 2nd year, very tolerant of heat, delicious fruit just like Grumixama, but a smaller plant)E. calycina (one of 7 seedlings, in 10-15 gal pots, approx 3yr old, from Miguel in Portugal, I believe they are all flowering for the first time this year, the flowers smell amazing, like clean laundry)

will try to post more pics of other Eugenias as they set fruit...really hoping for a decent crop on the E. pyriformis (sweet type), and E. involucrata (grafted Ben's Beaut, large fruited type)

I've always wondered if using citrus juice (mixed with your irrigation water) would act as a natural chelating agent?

maybe it would help combat poor soil pH? or poor water quality (like city water)?

also wondering about other things, maybe Oxalic acid from Carambola? there seems to be an abundance of fallen fruit that goes to waste, maybe it can help plants that are struggling with pH issues (of being in neutral or alkaline environments, when they need acid).

O.K., I'll de-lurk. (Just under the contest-deadline wire ... but, I suspect, if there is but one contestant, the deadline may need to be extended, which would be fine.)

Like Svennagel, I've been fascinated by plants since I was a small child. I wonder whether most members of this community share that history! (If my mother really feels like embarrassing me, she can start reminiscing about how I knew the names of all the flowers by the time I was eight ... I guess it could be worse.)

I live in an area where we can get some significant freezes, so, to be honest, I think it is safer to keep the "backbone" of the garden in temperate deciduous fruits and relatively hardy subtropicals (citrus, feijoa, white sapote, etc.). Also, I hate to lose plants during cold-snaps ... it makes me feel so guilty. (Of plant-abuse, that is ... good thing there are no vegetable prosecutors, or I might be in San Quentin right now...)

However, my interest in attempting marginal tropicals/subtropicals has been re-kindled recently, partially under the influence of two HARDCORE local fellow enthusiasts, both of whom sometimes post here. (Both of whom have also shared many nice plants with me.)

The development in tropical fruit that I am observing with most interest: Tim Thompson's mangoes! Yes, I know what the "regulars" here think about his project, and I have my own doubts, but it would be nice to see the skeptics surprised. (I like to grow things for my dad. He is from India. Can you guess what his favorite fruit might be? You get only one guess, but that should be enough.)

Why I would be a good candidate: Because ... uh ... I have tiger blood? No, scratch that, that's already dated, like talking about The Macarena. O.K., the real reason is because I would, in due course, share scionwood, etc., with friends in Bay Area rare fruit circles.

(If I have exceeded the word-limit, I throw myself upon the mercy of the court.)

Hello, my name is Steve and I have been enjoying this forum for about a year as a guest lurker so I appreciate Adam’s generous offer as incentive for those like me to join. I live in East Orlando on Lake Conway in a great little city called Belle Isle. Due to the chain of lakes that surround my location we enjoy a margin of higher temperatures during cold spells. I have lived in Florida for about fifty years and my family has almost always had fruit trees, mostly citrus. I was exposed to gardening from my mother and grandparents and I developed an interest in growing plants in my teens. Throughout my life I have dabbled in gardening based on time allowances provided by career and living location. I also have always enjoyed tropical locations such as the Florida Keys due to their lush tropical plants and have a bunch of plumerias in my yard. I also have an interest in eating healthy and the benefits provided by certain fruits. About seven years ago I bought an avocado tree, planted it and last year enjoyed my my first crop. I came across this forum from the link on Carlos’s MyAvocadoTree website as I researched various avocado varieties in an interest to graft and grow more avocado trees. The forum has expanded my interest to mango trees and additional tropical fruits. I have recently successfully grafted about five avocado seedlings from budwood from my tree and neighbors trees based on information from this forum and Carlos’s website/videos. Today to celebrate the first day of Spring, I coached my nine year old daughter on doing her own avocado graft as I try to instill in her an interest in gardening and healthy eating.

I feel I am a good candidate for this contest due to owning a home/yard that is well suited for tropical fruits and my passion towards expanding my tropical fruit knowledge, growing abilities and fruit diversity.

This one is a bit different than the other one I'm having, being that I'm only allowing brand new members who register after the time of this posting (you can also be an existing member who has never posted).

The intent of this exercise is to draw lurkers out of the shadows, and into the light of the tropical fruit discussion. I'd also like to encourage new members to join, who peruse the forum as a guest, without a registered account.

the rules are simple,

1) you will be required to post a 80-200 word essay, about the origins of your interest in tropical fruit, and why you are a good candidate to receive $25 store credit at my nursery, www.Plinias.com (aka, www.FlyingFoxFruits.com)

2) you will not be judged on proper grammar, or spelling, but please try your best to make the essay legible, and lucid. If English is not your first language, don't worry. Please try to express yourself to the best of your ability, we will understand if you make mistakes.

3) you will be judged by all of the existing members, who will vote, via the forum's polling system. I will post a poll, with each contestant's name as a votable item.

4) you must post your essay on this thread, and all submissions must be made on or before, Sunday, March 20th, 11:59 EST.